New Charges in Double Fatal Accident
Lying to the police is a bad idea. But lying to the police to cover up a crime, or to avoid the consequences of your actions is even worse – especially when you get caught! Which is certainly the case for Laken Williams, a 21-year-old from Lexington, who is facing some very serious charges in the wake of a double fatal accident that, as it turns out, she may have caused.
On October 28th, 2014, three young women were involved in a horrific car accident in Sanilac County. Investigators and Reconstruction Specialists with the Sheriffâs Office Accident Investigation Team apparently had a very hard time recreating the sequence of events that led to the accident. This was in part due to the high speed of the vehicle, and also because of the extensive damage done when the car rolled over repeatedly.
But for two of the three girls in the car at the time, the outcome of the investigation will make no difference. 18-year-old Dakota Moore and 17-year-old Danielle Torrez were both thrown from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene.
Williams, the third person in the car at the time of the crash, was injured, and was transported to McLaren Hospital in Port Huron. Her injuries were described as non-life threatening, and she was expected to make a full recovery.
What wasn’t expected though, was her arrest. On Monday, January 26th, Williams was arrested by deputies from the Sanilac County Sheriff’s Department. She is being charged with two felony counts of reckless driving causing death, a single count of false report of a felony, and a single count of lying to a peace officer.
As it turns out, Williams had told police that she had been a passenger in the vehicle when the crash happened, but due to accident reconstruction and investigative work, the police have been able to determine that Williams was, in actual fact, the driver.
Under Michigan law, a felony count of reckless driving causing death is punishable by up to 15 years in jail, while lying to a peace officer is a high court misdemeanor punishable by up to 2 years in prison.
Under Michigan law, making a false report of a crime is either treated as a misdemeanor or a felony, depending on the crime being falsified or covered up. In this case, because the crime Williams lied to the police about was a felony, she is being charged with a felony count of making a false report, which is punishable by up to 4 years in jail and a possible fine of up to $2,000.